Shetland yarn, named for the Scottish islands where it was first produced, is a woollen yarn spun from fibres of several similar dyed shades. It makes a more nuanced, characterful colour than plain single-colour spun yarn. Fair Isle stitch (named after one of the Shetland Islands) is a knitting technique used to double the thickness of a gar- ment by crossing yarn back and forth between the front and the back of the fabric. Fair Isle garments usually use two or more contrasting yarn colours to make a visible pattern on the surface, with hidden floats, or dropped stitches, on the back.

This Blind Fair Isle fabric is knitted using a single colour of Shetland yarn for front and back, in a tight check pattern.The panels are then made up inside-out, so that the float stitches are visible on the outside of the garment. Because the pattern is a small regular check the floats are quite short and give an unusual texture.The inside of the garment is the smooth flat face of the fabric.